


Gears For Fears

by Jacqueline_Ai



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Panic Attacks, Robots, anthrophobia, robot! Eren, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-05-01 19:01:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14527086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jacqueline_Ai/pseuds/Jacqueline_Ai
Summary: Levi lives alone. Any blind eye would tell you he probably just had rich parents and took the privileged route through life. They wouldn't be wrong exactly, but their stories always lack one detail- Levi has Anthrophobia. The fear of humans. A form of social anxiety that gives him no choice but isolation. That is, until he's given a humanoid robot to help him slowly overcome his fears.Welcome Professor Smith's newest invention; Eren.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING;  
> This fan fiction will contain a possible trigger warning for panic attacks and a vague look into a troubled past. Nothing should be too detailed, but please, PLEASE, take caution when you read.  
> SECONDLY; This was inspired by the J-Drama, "I'm Not a Robot." There shouldn't be any spoilers since this fan fiction goes off on a slight diversion from the real plot. I also might miss my typos in editing so, please don't kill me for it-- ^^;; I'll edit each chapter more than once over time so I can get the typos that I may miss eventually. If you want to point them out to me in a comment. that would help a lot as well! ^^  
> THIRDLY; I appreciate you for reading and I really can't thank you enough and please give "I'm Not a Robot" a try, because it's a really good show and I love it so much.

Grey sheets rustled in annoyance, as if they were also insulted by the loud beeping noise of an alarm. Soft groans could be heard from the monster made of material as it continued to shuffle around until an arm was flung out from it's side, reaching over to hit the box filling the room with offensive noise. Just like that, the noise stopped. Silence, blissful silence, then flooded the room. With a sigh, the sheet-mountain collapsed to reveal the groggy man beneath them. His raven hair went every-which way, few to none of the strands falling straight towards his shoulders. The early morning light bounced off of his pale complexion, his ivory skin showcased just how little he slept. His grey pools, lined by dark bags under them, blinked awake, the sleep in his eyes clouding his view. The man tilted his head with a crack of his neck, looking at the clock. The digital box proudly displayed the time the sun rose, '6 AM' glowed in red from the screen. The man took his time to look around his room, trying to wake himself up a little more; his eyes took in the same sparkling design that had lined the white wallpaper of his room for years, then they moved to observe the wooden desk that basked in the light from the window opposite it. The light draped over the wooden desk elegantly, presenting all the neat stacks of paper and neatly arranged pencil pots on the hard surface. The same wood made up the man's wardrobe. After staring at it for a few moment, bare feet could feel the soft white carpet under them as the man got up. With a stretch that cracked and clicked his bones, he slowly approached the wardrobe opposite his bed and lazily flung the door open. His only friend had commented on this before, but even without their comment, he was more than willing to accept that his clothing lacked colour. Copies of the same white shirt slept on hangers right next to each other; blazers of slightly different designs stood at attention to make up one, darker section of his clothing line. His trousers were only different at the button, they all bared the same coal colour. Huffing, the male threw his hands forwards, playing lucky dip to put his suit for that day together. 

 

By the time he changed from his white pyjama set and into his clean suit, he was more awake...Or at least awake enough to start making himself breakfast. The white counter-tops and spotless appliances only made the white tiles on the wall shimmer more, the black tiled floor under his feet didn't dare bare a mark. Half an hour of digging through his cupboards earned him a breakfast of breakfast bars and yogurt, thrown together almost on a whim. Before he sat down at the counter to eat, he padded down his long hallways, a black carpet leading him to the front of his house, where he was met with light brown paper and the physical embodiment of spam emails pooling at his door. After he picked those up, he looked through the spy hole of the door to make sure no one was outside before he opened the door and turned to the side. In front of him, was a genius idea he created himself quite a while ago: a see-through plastic box stood on a wooden stool with it's own large letter box, empty. If he didn't have to sign for a package, there was a note above the box, stating to place the package through the flap of the plastic container. Having this in place meant that human interactions at the door could be kept to a minimum, this was essential, especially for people like the man who's life echoed through his walls. 

Making sure the door was locked, he made his way back to his kitchen, letters in hand. Sitting down, he looked over each envelope. 

'Dear, Mr. Ackerman.' 'To, Mr. Levi Ackerman' 'Dear, whomever it may concern.' 

The same things lined the top of the letters, causing Levi to sigh and tear open each letter with a roll of his eyes. He wasn't surprised to find they were all basically the same, usual letters he got through his door; bills, business offers, leaflets, ect, ect. Levi never worked, so thankfully, he never got any serious letters. He never usually paid much attention to the leaflets that he received either, but one in particular caught his attention as he held it in his hands. What looked like a innocent, party planner to some, looked like hell to him. 

Due to his inheritance, he had more than enough to live in a large, flashy mansion and throw parties nightly, as this leaflet was suggesting he do, but he much preferred a medium sized house by a main road. When his mind drifted to thoughts of what it would be like to host even a small event, longing was replaced with dread. The amount of time he'd need to prepare, the amount of people he'd need to face, the amount of conversations he'd need to uphold- He couldn't do it. He could never do it. It wasn't his choice to live like 'work' was a thing only the poor did, and if he could, he would be out working just like everyone else. But the fear of being around other people almost choked him. The words 'Social Interaction' on their own were enough for him to feel a black, cold hand squeezing around his neck, the moistness of his mouth would dry up instantly. His knees would shake lightly, his hands would quake, setting his palms off sweating. He could never face people by force. It was his fear, his phobia, his downfall.

As if on cue, he flinched as his doorbell echoed through the house.

Someone was at his door. 

His body tensed harshly as he froze in place, a cold sweat washing over him as his doorbell sounded again. 

"I-I have to answer it...I'll be fine...Nothing can harm me...I'm ok...It'll be alright-" 

His mouth moved on it's own as it let out shaky breaths. He kept on repeating those words over and over as he slowly walked back towards his door. The black, cold hand was  already unrelenting, squeezing around his neck as he got closer to the door, he swallowed as his mouth fell dry. His heart started to pound in his head, any logical reasoning was being drowned out by pure, electrifying fear. Under his coats that hung neatly beside his personal barricade, he hid his only defence: his black baton. One hand darted for it while the other hesitantly reached for the door handle. Feeling the common symptoms of a panic attack get worse, he swung the door open to reveal a stranger. The unfamiliar face greeted him with a smile and started to speak, but he couldn't hear anything of what they were saying. He noticed they had some sort of paper in their hand, but he couldn't focus in on what it was. Lunging forward, he cut the stranger off by snatching the paper from them and slamming the door in their face, leaning against it once it was shut, searching for some form of comfort. 

"What was it?" He muttered to himself with shallow breaths as he looked at the paper in his hands. He calmed down only very slightly when he noticed exactly what it was and exactly how meaningless the message it advocated was. 

"God squad...It was just the God squad...Just someone trying to raise awareness for their damn church..." He tried his best to reason with himself, but he knew deep down he was to far gone for that. 

Throwing his baton down, he fought against his tremoring body as best as he could and moved away from the door, he felt as if he was on stilts as he clambered up his stairs, making his way to his room. There was only one person who he trusted enough to help him when he was in this state, one person who he forced himself not to fear. 

Swiping his phone from his bedside table, his unsteady hands found the contact number easily. 

"Hello?"

The voice on the other side almost sang to him; he had to remind himself who he was calling before he got worse. 

"H-Hanji-" 

The voice replied to his shaken call in a more serious tone, understanding the code Levi voiced to them.  

"I'm on my way."  


	2. Chapter 2

The door rattled before it opened, a concerned brunette darted in, almost tripping over their own feet. They quickly dropped their bag, pushing up their thick-framed glasses before looking around. 

"Levi?" 

There was no response to their call. 

"Levi, sweetie? I'm here, where are you?" Their voice bounced as they started to move through the house. The closets room to them was Levi's living room, peering in, their brown eyes waltzed over black leather sofas draped in white cotton cloth, everything in the room from the tv to the window seemed to be untouched. There was no sign of Levi. They moved swiftly into Levi's kitchen, the only things out of place were open letters sprawled on the counter and a healthy yet lack luster breakfast that was still waiting to be eaten. They gazed out of Levi's kitchen window to see if the person in question was outside in the garden, but like before, there was no sign of Levi. 

They sighed as they turned around on themselves, heading upstairs. That's when they finally heard who they were looking for. Pants and whimpers could be heard coming from Levi's bedroom. 

"Levi," They kept their voice as soft as they could as they tapped on the door lightly, hearing a small gasp. 

"I'm gonna to come in, ok? I'm here, you're gonna to be alright." 

The sight of Levi made their heart fall, they could see how badly Levi was shaking. As they got closer, he instantly moved back from them, trying to create more space. 

"You're gonna to be ok, I'm here now, it's alright," Hanji tried not to move closer as they took in the sight of him, analyzing the situation in their head. 

"Can you come a little closer for me, sweetie? I won't hurt you, Levi, I pinkie-swear." They tried their best to  give him a warming smile. 

"R-Right..." Levi nodded and took a few small steps forwards. As he did, Hanji noticed he looked paler than usual, they also noticed the sweat he'd broke into. Before they could deal with finding the trigger for the panic attack, they first knew they needed to calm Levi's breathing down. Hanji lifted their hand slowly, mentally wincing as Levi flinched.  

"Can you focus on my hand? I'll keep it right here, don't you worry." They watched Levi's silver eyes hesitantly follow their hand as they moved it from one side to the other. 

"Ok, you're doing good, keep focusing on my hand and listen to my voice, you're in a safe place, nothing's gonna hurt you." When noticed Levi's shoulders relax slightly, a wider smile lined their lips, they were getting through to him.  

"Alright," Hanji started as they closed their hand into a loose fist. 

"I want you to breathe in through your nose until I hold up all five fingers, can you do that for me?" They didn't continue till they saw Levi nod his head. 

Levi's chest was still rattling, but not quite as much when he started to breathe in deeply, his eyes attempted to block out everything else but Hanji. Over and over in his head, he reminded himself that Hanji wouldn't hurt him, they would never hurt him, Hanji was the only person who he didn't need to fear, he was safe with them. 

When Hanji had finished slowly counting up to five, they lifted their other hand into the air gently, holding up three fingers. 

"Now breathe out for eight through your mouth, breathe out till all my fingers are down, you're doing great, Levi, keep going." Their words of encouragement managed to calm Levi's mind, Although he was still shaking, he could feel himself starting to relax more, the thoughts of fear racing through his mind were replaced with thoughts of a calmer kind. 

"And again." Hanji put one hand down, leaving only one for Levi to focus on, a sense of pride welling up inside them as they watched Levi slowly stop shaking, more colour filled his cheeks the longer he controlled his breathing for. 

"And breathe out one more time." By the time they repeated the breathing exercise three times, Levi was practically back to normal. It was evident he was still shaken up, but he could hold his hands out straight without them shaking beyond his control. 

The more Levi focused, he noticed what Hanji was wearing and instantly felt a pang of guilt. The light from his window shone over their white lab coat, a few marks on their sleeve here and there suggested to him that Hanji was in a hurry even before he called them over. 

"I'm sorry..." He started to apologize instantly, the blue logo of Professor Smith's Robotics company catching his eye. 

"You were probably busy already. Are you late for work? Damn it, I'm so sorry-"

"Levi," Hanji cut him off. 

"I wasn't in a rush at all, if anything, I was gonna turn up early. Even if I was late, you're so much more important. I've already told Erwin about you, he would understand." 

Levi nodded slightly, taking in their words. The guilt however, didn't seem to want to take their words as gospel. 

"How is Erwin, anyway? He seems...Interesting?" Levi picked his words carefully as the both of them left his bedroom, slowly making their way back to his kitchen. 

"Oh, he's fine~! He's also interested in you as well. 'Said he's never heard of a phobia like the one you have, he wants to know more about it." This caused Levi to scoff. 

"A lot of people do." He sat at his counter again and crossed his arms, this was far from the first time he heard about someone not understanding his phobia- He was tired of it by now. 

"Are you sure you're gonna be alright now? What triggered that?" Hanji asked, adjusting their jacket; Levi nodded and sighed. 

"God squad." Without having to say more, Hanji nodded, an 'ah' of understanding leaving their lips. 

"Here, shitty glasses," He slid an untouched breakfast bar down his counter towards Hanji before they left the room. 

"Take it...For uh...Helping me." Hanji hesitated, picking it up. 

"Are you sure?" 

Levi nodded, watching them smile. 

"Thanks~!" Hanji bowed politely and turned, walking back towards the door. 

"Call me if you need anything!" They quickly stuffed the bar into their bag and slipped the bag over their shoulder. 

"Right!" With that, Hanji left, squinting as cold wind hit their face. 


	3. Chapter 3

Hanji pushed up their glasses as they walked through the automatic doors to their work place. The smell was always what hit them first each morning, a sickening mix of coffee and oil filled their nostrils, causing them to choke back a cough. Next, their eyes would be assaulted by a bright light, the walls, a shimmering metallic silver, would beam any light that hit them straight back into Hanji's eyes. Then, the sounds they loved so much would deafen them as the automatic doors shut behind them. The cars zooming past behind Hanji would slowly fade into the sounds of keyboards tapping, the murmurs of different people in quiet conversations, the sound of the elevator opposite them opening and closing. It was hard for Hanji to choose which sound was their favorite, but if they had to choose, it would have to be the welcoming tannoy announcement that sounded every time someone entered the building. 

'Welcome to Professor Smith's Robotics. Let's work hard today.' 

Something about that welcome message danced perfectly with the homely atmosphere that the building gave them,  it was as if their work place gave them somewhere to belong. Despite the sickening smell, the blinding light and the blend of different noises, Hanji wouldn't change a thing. 

Handing out smiles like flyers, Hanji made their way to the elevator, checking the time before the doors opened, revealing a few stray workers with tired eyes. Hanji hummed in thought as they stepped into the enclosed space. They weren't late, but they suddenly felt as if they'd done something wrong...As if they'd forgotten something. Their brows knitted together as they rummaged through their bag, careful not to shove their elbow in anyone's face. They saw they had their phone, their work lanyard, the breakfast bar Levi gave them, their work files full of code to follow up, a few pens here and there, their headphones and a home packed lunch. They weren't missing anything. 

Shrugging to themselves, they stepped out of the elevator again at the top floor of the building, taking a left to follow the path the silver corridor lined for them. The feeling of forgetting something was getting stronger and stronger the closer they got to their destination. Taking out their lanyard, they slipped it over their head before they pushed the door in front of them open.

If the work building was their home, their team's work room would be their bedroom. A safe place where they could be themselves and relax was what the dull grey walls meant to them. Each member of their team had their own desk in each corner of the room, (apart from Hanji's, their desk was closer to Erwin's,) while the center of the room was usually left as open space to be filled with whatever their team was working on currently. Sometimes a large table would occupy the centre of the room, other times it was a single computer being modified extensively. For their project this time, a large, dark grey capsule was filling the center of the room, wires threaded in and out of the six foot metallic beast, feeding code through to the true creation of Erwin's team. 

The first thing Hanji noticed as they felt a sense of safety wash over them, was that everyone was already present in the room. Did everyone get an early start today? Is that what they were forgetting? 

"Hanji, welcome," Stepping out from a pile of boxes on the corner of the room, their boss gave them a warm smile. 

"Erwin, hi...Am...Am I late-? I'm sorry, see, Levi had a panic attack so I needed to stop over there first and-" 

Erwin raised his hand slightly to silence them, his crystal eyes showing nothing but understanding. 

"It's alright, you aren't late don't worry. Actually, you're timing couldn't be better. I assume you forgot to make that call to order extra parts?" 

Hanji's heart started doing flips in their chest. 

"Shoot! No, I didn't. God, I'm sorry-" 

Erwin only nodded, giving out a small chuckle. 

"I had Petra make the call earlier just in case, don't worry. Please, follow me," Erwin started walking towards his desk. 

On the way around, Hanji nodded a greeting to everyone they passed. First, there was Petra. A woman just under average height with fiery ginger hair and amber eyes. She was usually in charge of managing how much money was spent where, but she had a hand in Erwin's large projects like the one the team were working on currently. Next, Hanji passed Eld. If Erwin were of a slightly leaner build, Hanji was convinced that Eld and Erwin would be practically one in the same. The only difference would be the calming brown pools Eld possessed, in direct contrast to Erwin's cold blue orbs. Eld was just an ordinary member of their team, skilled in coding and editing code to fit certain purposes. Next was Gunther, the designer of the team. Hanji didn't know much about Gunther since he was the team's newest member, taking the place of the former designer who retired due to old age, but he seemed friendly and intelligent enough. Finally, she got to Erwin's desk.  The largest monitor of all of the monitors in the room stood proud on his desk, displaying a complex code in green writing only few could understand. Erwin was the brains behind all the team's ideas, he came up with the concept, the time frame and was the person who would decide if the team's final product was good enough to start selling. This project though, as he'd told all the members before, was more of a private project. 

"I'm glad you brought up Levi, I think I'm finally ready to reveal the idea behind what we've spent two years on already." 

Hanji felt nothing but confusion as they looked at the screen and then back to Erwin. 

"And that is, Sir...?" 

A smile lined Erwin's lips. 

"As you know, we're aiming to build a robot that looks and acts as human as possible. It will know all the basic functions of the human body and will be able to adapt and learn new things in different situations, in  other words, a humanoid A.I robot." 

Hanji nodded, a confused look still lingering on their features. 

"I'm building this for Levi. You've told me enough about him, so I want to try and help him. My father's company is doing fairly well so there's no need to rush and push out products to make money, so I thought opening this project would do more good than harm." 

The room fell dead silent as Hanji registered what their boss had just said. 

"For Levi-? But he's afraid of-" 

"I know." Erwin cut them off. 

"But if it's only a phobia, he should be able to get over it if he works on it, yes? Having someone there with him all the time will get him used to human interaction-"  

"-And his phobia, theoretically,  should slowly disappear! Oh, Erwin you didn't have to! He'll love this!" 

A modest nod was Erwin's response. Tapping his keyboard, he changed the monitor's screen from displaying green code, to displaying a digital prototype for their project, as well as how far they were coming along with it. 

"As you can see, this is practically finished. We're just working on minor and final bug fixes. Eld, do you have an update for how long that will take?" He called over to the other side of the room, searching for who he was talking to. 

"They should be done within a few days, Sir!" Eld called back, his eyes glued to his screen. 

With a nod, Erwin turned back to Hanji, who was practically ogling at the prototype, using Erwin's broad shoulder to lean forwards even more. The height of their creation was set to be Five foot six and set to weigh just over sixty-three kilograms. The features on the prototype seemed so realistic it was uncanny, from the short hair to the large eyes. 

"What are you calling it?" Hanji asked as they noticed the name space on the screen was empty. 

"I was thinking...Perhaps, 'Eren' would be a fitting name. What do you think?" Erwin asked, his face contoured to an expression deep in thought. 

"I think that's perfect! So, how are we going to get this to Levi?" Hanji's response was filled to the brim with excitement; Erwin hummed in thought. 

"I believe he'll need to come here first...In which case, it should be on a weekend because no one aside from a few will be here. I can arrange a car to pick him up if you give me his address. That is, of course, if he's intere-" Erwin stopped talking when he noticed Hanji was already one step ahead of him. Phone in hand, Hanji was buzzing with pure glee. 

"Hey, Levi! You'll never guess what! I have a surprise for you!" 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to say sorry for taking so long to update this. Recently, life has been throwing things at me that take time to deal with, but I'll try my best to keep this work updated despite the odds.  
> Thank you for reading and thank you for all the support.

Saturday's morning sun blinded Levi as he walked through the doors of Hanji's work place. The shimmering walls bouncing back all the light that hit them directly into his eyes. Taking a breath in to try and steady his nerves, he found himself choking on the scent of coffee and oil as it clung to his throat. Taking a few more steps, he felt the wind of the automatic doors closing behind him on his back, sending a chill up his spine. The noise of a loud tannoy echoed through the air as it replaced the noise of the outside world, starting him. The hand holding his baton instantly lifted to protect him. 

'Welcome to Professor Smith's Robotics, let's work hard today.' 

Eyes of uncertainty grazed around the room as he kept taking small steps forwards. Not a single person in sight, just like he ordered Hanji to ensure. He was just about to praise them in his head before his phone buzzed. Slipping it out of his blazer pocket, he rolled his eyes as 'Shitty Glasses' lined the top of his screen. 

"What-?" 

"Welcome to Professor Smith's Robotics, Levi! I'll be your personal tour guide! If you look to your left, you'll see the reception desk," 

Levi huffed as he looked to his left. Just as they said, there the reception desk stood. The wood it was made of was spotless, a golden plate nailed to the front of it told Levi the name of who usually sat behind it. His eyes were filled to the brim with boredom as they trailed along the top of the desk.

"Now, if you look to your right, you'll see-" 

"Just show me the clunck of metal I came to see. Quit shitting around. I already want to go home." 

Levi cut them off with a scowl, his fingers itching to hang up the phone. His scowl only grew when he heard Hanji's voice turn whiny. 

"But Leevviii..."

A moment of silence fell, broken by a small giggle.

"Fine. There's a elevator in front of you, let it take you to the top floor. When you get off, you're gonna wanna take a left. Just follow the corridor. Alright? Bye~!" 

With that, Hanji hung up. 

Sighing, Levi nodded to himself and walked forwards, entering the lift once it opened. Stepping inside, he lightly pressed the blue button with the largest number on it before crossing his arms.

When Hanji had told him that their boss had made some kind of robot for him, he was...Apprehensive, to say the least. He didn't ask for it, nor did he want a stranger's help, but he knew it was rude to turn something down without looking at it first. Hanji told him stories about how kind Erwin was, about how thoughtful and intelligent he was and about how understanding he was in most situations. To Levi though, that's all they were- Stories. He didn't have proof of anything Hanji told him and he wasn't interested in finding any. Humans to him, were all the same aside from a few. They were vile creatures. Hurtful, unintelligent, vengeful and destructive. Nothing could change his mind.

The 'ding' of the elevator withdrew him from his thoughts. As he stepped out of the lift, he checked the corridor both ways for any sign of life before exhaling slowly, following the path to his left. 

He was half expecting Hanji to jump out and scare him as he opened the black door that ended the corridor. Instead, he was met with dim light. Empty desks with low buzzing computers circled the room, making the room look smaller than it probably was. Dust made the carpet under Levi's feet as he stepped inside slowly, lifting his baton across his body out of instinct. No sooner had he closed the door behind him, he felt the same, familiar anxiety wash over him as he brought his eyes to the center of the room. Moving past the first desk in this path, Levi got as close as he could for comfort before he could see exactly what was staring at him. 

 "I thought I said to get rid of any damn people in here-" Levi took a fighting stance instantly, staring back at the emerald pools taking him in.  

The stranger's head tilted to the side, sending soft brown hair sweeping to one side. Their healthy yet pale complexion showed flawless skin, a natural shine seeming to make itself at home on their cheek. Their face shifted to one of confusion temporarily before they moved their head back to look straight at Levi, holding a blank expression.  

"Hm. I can't find any information on you. However, you are not part of Professor Smith's company...You are also not an enemy...So therefore, you must be Levi Ackerman. Close friend of Hanji Zoe from the High Development Team of Professor Smith's Robotics. Is my assessment wrong?" 

Levi's heart was fearfully pounding in his chest; a buzzing sensation filling his ears. 

"What the hell is this?" His voice was a low, protective growl as his eyes darted around the room for any sign of safety. 

"Reading your expressions, you are angry? Are you fearful? A formal introduction might help to calm your nerves. Should I shake your hand?" The stranger standing in the centre of the room took a step forwards, causing Levi to take a step back. He didn't know what it was, but something about the stranger in front of him looked wrong. The jeans they were wearing looked as if they were made to fit them, the same applied to their plain shirt. A green hoodie hung from their shoulders. They seemed normal enough, but there was something Levi couldn't put his finger on.  

"Back it up, green eyes, don't come any closer!" The baton in Levi's hand was pointing directly to the stranger, as if it were a sword waiting to stab the approaching threat. 

"Professor Erwin Smith told me you were here to see the newest creation of the High Development Team. That would be me." The stranger held out their hand, they stopped walking once the baton barley touched their chest. 

"What the hell are you talking about?" 

"I am Eren, Professor Smith's Robotic's first functioning humanoid robot. It's a pleasure to meet you." 

Levi, despite his fear, let out a scoff. 

"Of all the bullshit I've heard in my life, that has to be the dumbest." Levi kept his eyes on 'Eren' as he slid his free hand into his blazer pocket, fishing out his phone, calling Hanji. 

"Hey, Shitty Glasses, didn't I tell you to get all the humans out of this place? What the hell is this?" Levi's fear and confusion only grew as he heard Hanji laugh. 

"Levi, he wasn't lying. Did he tell you his name was Eren? That's what we've been working on for ages now. You can trust him, he isn't a real person. Me and Erwin are gonna be there soon, ok? We'll knock before we come in-" Levi hung up the call, not taking his eyes off of 'Eren' as he put his phone back. As if the 'man' in front of him heard the conversation, he gave Levi a closed eye smile. 

"Tch. Just because you're scrap metal, don't think I'll trust you so easil-" 

"Only about twenty percent of me is made from reused metal that was formally scrapped, the rest of me is made from newer materials." 

'Eren' handed out yet another smile, Levi's face contorted to one of annoyance to respond. 

After a few moment of silence, a soft knock echoed through the room. Knowing it was Hanji, Levi lowered his baton, still keeping eye contact with 'Eren'. 

"Did you not think to tell me this thing looked like a human? I assumed it would look less...Well...Human..." Levi called to Hanji, his eye twitching in annoyance as he heard them giggle in response. 

"If I told you that, I was afraid you weren't gonna show up. Trust me, Levi, Eren won't hurt you. Take his hand, please?" Hanji gave a warm smile as they walked closer to Levi, standing by his side. Levi responded with a glare. 

"It was worth a try. Eren, you can put your hand back by your side, It's ok." Eren did just as he was told in fluid movements, smiling back at Hanji. 

 Levi was calmer now that trust filled his atmosphere with Hanji there, but he wasn't trusting the situation enough to believe it was real just yet. 

"Perhaps Levi will trust Eren more when we sit through the paper work? I imagine this is a lot to take in." Erwin entered the room with a clip board and a small pile of paper, instantly catching Eren's attention.  

"To trust someone or something, is to have no doubts that the someone or something isn't fake. Permission to list my skill set, Sir?" Eren bowed his head slightly, facing in Erwin's direction; Levi squinted at Hanji's amazed expression. 

"Of course," Erwin nodded, slightly taken back at how fluidly Eren could keep up with a conversation. He knew Eren would be able to do this from the start, but seeing it happen first hand was something he would have to get used to.

Eren turned back to Levi.  "I am able to search for anything on the internet as long as I have a wifi connection or am connected to a router, however I can perform  some tasks even without internet connection. I am capable of speaking several different languages, I am capable of reading facial expressions and body language and can store them in my memory for later reference. I am capable of adapting to different situations and can also learn new things quicker than the average person. When my battery is full, I can operate for at least twelve hours." 

Hanji's brown orbs were wide, a shocked expression solidifying on their features. Levi seemed just as surprised, an eyebrow raised as he tried to understand what he just heard. Erwin placed the papers he was holding down on the first desk he passed, a proud smile lined his lips. 

"Although, Eren does still have flaws. He may take things too literally," Erwin stood next to Eren, facing Levi and Hanji. 

"What do you mean by that?" 

The question left Levi's lips almost involuntarily; Erwin only sighed. 

"Well, I wouldn't advise using phrases like 'break your leg'-" 

Eren turned slightly to Erwin, then nodded. 

"The order was to beak my leg?" He lifted his leg up slightly, seeming to get ready to bend his knee joint the other way. 

"Eren, honey no! No! Cancel! Don't do that, sweetie!" Hanji let out a nervous laugh as they stumbled forwards, taking Eren's hands. 

"Information input, 'break your leg' means 'good luck'." At Hanji's words, Eren nodded. 

"Information input success." 

All Levi could do was stand there, his head starting to hurt from trying to stomach all of what was happening in front of him. His eyes shifted between Erwin and Eren, a confused expression still ever present on his face. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life got in the way majorly, I'm really sorry this took so long...On the plus side though, I've finished with college and that means I have more free time, so hopefully I'll pump out more chapters now.  
> If there are any mistakes, I'll edit this again soon to fix them.

Being lead to a desk and prompted, Levi hesitantly sat in Erwin's chair, calming his nerves as Erwin came closer to him and handed him a small stack of papers with a warm smile lining his lips. To avoid the possibility of accidentally touching Erwin's hand, Levi snatched the papers from him, stuffing his eyes with the words to avoid eye contact with the other man. While he was reading, he tried his best to block out the noises of Hanji interacting with Eren. 

"Whoa...The designer really made a good choice with your clothing! Do you like what you're wearing, Eren?" The robot blinked as he processed the question. Then, Eren looked down at himself, holding his arms out slightly to observe his sleeves, lifting each foot off the floor and tilting them slightly to look at his shoes. 

"Yes, it was decided a comfortable choice of clothing would suit me better than formal clothing. However, I'm able to wear whatever is requested of me. I wasn't programmed to have many opinions." Hanji marvelled at Eren's answer; Levi just rolled his eyes and scoffed.   

"So this...This thing," Levi started and tilted his head in Eren's direction, 

"Is mine? You...You don't even know me, this is the first time you've seen me, why did you waste your time making...That?" At his question, Erwin only chuckled slightly, showing understanding. 

"Hanji told us about you," Erwin began as he pulled a chair up to sit opposite Levi. As Levi shuffled away slightly, Erwin crossed his arms and slid his chair back, attempting to silently show Levi he wasn't going to hurt him despite Levi's eyes being elsewhere. 

"Every time they were late, they gave their reason and that's how we heard of you. I went home and tried to think of a way to help the situation; since Hanji plays a large role in our team and lateness is never good, but you also need them and I understand that completely. They can't be in two places at once and that's when I thought about making Eren. obviously, if you choose to accept Eren, we do need to charge you...I don't like the idea of that but we need make a least a small portion of our funds back from our creation, I hope you understand..." 

Levi only nodded, skimming over page after page. The words he took in were a complete list of all Eren's functions, what to do in a malfunction, how long to charge the robot for, legal spew, ect, ect. 

"Two weeks," He muttered as he kept skimming. His words echoed through the room, creating a silence in which a pin drop could be heard quite clearly. Both Eren and Hanji froze for a moment and looked over at Levi. The atmosphere in the room seemed to drop to a chilling tone. 

"I...I'm sorry, Levi, what was that?" Erwin asked politely as he shuffled in his chair. 

"I'll take the piece of scrap metal for two weeks, if I want to keep it after that, I'll pay you whatever you want." Levi put the papers down on Erwin's desk and finally made eye contact with Erwin, his grey orbs bore into icy blue ones. 

"Ah...Alright, Levi...Two weeks." Erwin didn't know what to be more shocked at: the fact that Levi even considered accepting to take Eren or the fact Levi sounded so bold with his bargain. Erwin watched with wide eyes as Levi looked around his desk and picked up the closest pen to him, signing the papers and sliding a few of them back over to Erwin. With that, Levi took the rest of the papers and got up, starting to walk towards the door; Erwin and Hanji quickly followed. 

Eren watched them walk, a sign of confusion masked his face. 

"Am I being moved?" He asked, causing Hanji to turn around before they walked through the door. 

"You sure are, sweetie! Follow us, you'll be staying with Levi now!" They beamed excitedly, waving their hand, beckoning Eren to follow. 

Once they were all out of the room, Erwin led the way back down the hall to the elevator. 

"We should be able to get Eren's charger to you later, tomorrow evening at the latest, so you might need to put Eren on energy saving mode for a while." Erwin informed, stepping out of the way so Levi could enter the lift first. 

"Fine." Levi dismissed him, his eyes locking on the floor. 

 

No sooner had Levi left the building, he found himself in Erwin's car, sitting in the back with his head pressed against the window. He focused on the sound of the engine, ignoring the voices of Hanji and Erwin in the front. In his mind, he lost himself in his thoughts.

Erwin didn't know him, he only heard of him through one of his workers and then put years of work into something to give a stranger...Levi couldn't quite wrap his head around that. Did he have a right to be suspicious? Maybe. He couldn't deny it was a kind thing to do, but was it a trustworthy thing to do? Given Erwin's words from earlier, he knew Eren was only made to help him get over his fear, he wasn't sure if he was comfortable with that either if he was being honest with himself. How would something that isn't human help him get over his fear of humans?

Nevertheless, Erwin let off a calming presence. Levi felt it as soon as Erwin entered that room. He managed to link that same feeling to Hanji almost right away, but his trust issues were the only thing that got in the way of accepting Erwin as a friend rather than an enemy. Levi wished it was simple to befriend others, like it was when he was younger, but his younger self, as far as he was concerned, had been dead for a long time. Thanks to black figures in blinding lights and deafening alarm bells, reaching out for someone's hand was the scariest thing he could ever do...

"You seem sad, what's wrong?" 

Levi jumped, the smack of his head against the glass echoing through the car. Hissing, he turned to Eren, raising a hand to cover the pain throbbing under his raven scalp. 

"Yeah? I'll tell you when it has anything to do with you. Otherwise, mind your own damn business."  He watched as Eren stared at him, blinking. 

"Is that an order?" Eren tilted his head for a moment, assessing Levi's expression of anger. 

"Tch." Crossing his arms, Levi scooted over in his seat, getting as close to the door as he could. 

 

Once he saw the gate to his front garden, he let out a sigh of content, unbuckling his seat belt and getting out of the car faster than the others. Without even waiting for the three he came with, he started walking, happily opening his front garden gate. He took each step down the concrete path in front of him with content, getting closer to the blissful safety of his house. Taking his keys out of his pocket, he stepped onto his door step and turned. 

Erwin was first through his gate, carefully holding it open for Hanji and Eren. Hanji, having seen the same front garden time and time again, quickly joined Levi at his door step, the other two however, seemed amazed as they looked around. To Levi, his garden wasn't too special. It was well kept since he sometimes managed to creep out and clean things up during the night, but he supposed it was different to other people's front gardens based on all the flowers he had growing amongst fresh green grass. The flowers changed annually of course, but at that moment; Tulips, lavenders, sunflowers and various other plants decorated the greenery neatly, reflecting his personality in a way. 

"I know, it's beautiful, isn't it?" Hanji giggled as Erwin and Eren joined them finally. 

"It's certainly well kept..." Erwin nodded, stepping back to take in the front of the house. 

"It's so large-" 

"When you're finished ogling at a building...Feel free to come in. Shut the door behind you."  Levi had already opened his front door and slid his shoes off before he finished his sentence and walked towards his kitchen, starting to shrug his blazer off too. 


	6. Chapter 6

 

Anxiety crept through Levi's veins as he watched Erwin and Eren meet him in his kitchen, the reassuring feeling of safety that Hanji radiated was the only thing stopping him from melting down into a full blown panic attack. Levi could put on a brave face, but only if Hanji was in the room. The air was stiff, an awkward silence fell as Levi watched the two strangers cautiously. Erwin's blue gems danced around the room, taking as much in as they could. 

"Hanji has told me a lot about you...But I never imaged..." 

Erwin's sentence ran off into silence yet again. If Levi was being honest with himself, he knew Erwin was amazed, but he didn't quite know how to process it. Thus, his reaction, he knew deep down, wasn't the best reaction to have. 

"You never imagined, what? A lonely man can still have a decent house." He crossed his arms, tilting his head to the side with a scowl. 

"O-Oh! L-Levi, no I didn't mean...I just wasn't quite expecting such a nice house...Considering your..." He noticed how fidgety Erwin was getting. Levi glanced over to Hanji, who gave him a look telling him to keep talking.

"Tch," Levi rolled his eyes, draping his blazer over the back of one of the chairs sitting in front of his counter.

"Sure, I don't work, but my parents did. I don't know what they did, they weren't around me long enough to tell me and I really don't care, but they left all their money to me. They left me a large sum, the bank pays me for keeping a certain amount with them and I'm set for life without having to get a job or leave the house. Rich people don't have to flaunt their money, y'know." At his explanation, he squinted slightly as he saw Erwin's eyes soften. 

"Levi, I...I'm so...-" 

"You're sorry? Don't be. Unless you're the reason they're not here anymore, don't apologize. 'Sorry' is only a word anyway." Levi's words spilled out of his mouth like venom, poisoning the air with hostility. It was then, that Hanji decided to take over the act of being social. 

"W-Well, Levi, we're both glad you deiced to take Eren. We'll have his charger to you in no time at all! Try and get used to him, he can't hurt you, remember that." 

Levi only nodded at Hanji's words. 

"Eren," The robot turned to Erwin, waiting to hear what he had to say. 

"You'll be staying with Levi now. Myself and Hanji will be back for you in two weeks." At this, Eren simply nodded, not seeing a reason to say anything else. 

 

Levi sighed, sitting back down in his kitchen after he showed Erwin and Hanji out. He rested his elbows on his kitchen counter and rested his head in his hands, trying to get used to the shuffling noise Eren was making as he walked back from the front door. Eren looked at Levi, then looked away. Feeling a shiver go down his spine, Levi kept his eyes on Eren as the robot stood still for a moment, seemingly scanning the room with his eyes. Then, he started to walk again, turning around to open a few drawers. 

"H-Hey! Whoa, whoa- What are you doing?" Levi shot up from his seat instantly. 

"I never said you could start going through my shit." 

Eren turned to him and nodded calmly. 

"Yes, but I need to process everything here. If I'm going to be staying here for two weeks, I need to know where things are." 

Logically, Levi knew that made sense, but just the thought of Eren going through his things made his stomach churn, it set off his anxiety immediately. 

"Yeah- Well, a warning might have been nice- Or do you just not have a 'politeness programme' in your system or something." Levi crossed his arms, waiting for Eren to respond. 

"Would you like me to activate my 'politeness programme'? I don't have one of those, but I know what you meant. I have three different personality systems, each with different functionality." 

Levi's lips opened, then closed again once or twice, trying figure out what to say. He found human interaction hard enough- He had no idea how he was meant to respond to something like that. After a moment, he stuttered slightly before asking, 

"What are those...'Personality systems' - ?" 

Eren seemed to smile at him before answering him, as if he was somehow glad Levi had asked. 

"If you want someone polite, someone to laugh with you and to compliment you, someone to give you friendly advice and cheer you up when you're down, just say; 'Eren, switch to 'Friend Mode'. If you would like a machine that values logic over emotion and gives you statistics rather than opinion, just say; 'Eren, switch to 'Default Mode'." Eren took a moment to analyze Levi. The shorter man's eyes had gone slightly wide, a confused but interested look on his face was present. This told Eren Levi was still interested. 

"'Default Mode' is my current setting. If you would like less of a friend and more of a servant, someone who can do tasks twice as efficiently as the other two modes, just say; 'Eren, switch to 'Servant Mode'. I can switch between these three personality programmes swiftly and not lose any data I've collected. Would you like to switch my personality mode now?" 

Eren's question took Levi off guard. Erwin clearly paid close attention when designing Eren, he saw that then. Although he wasn't sure what he felt about Erwin, he felt he needed to praise his genius at least. 

"Uh...Eren, switch to 'Friend Mode.'" Levi shrugged, watching as Eren's posture dropped, his shoulders slightly hunched over. Eren looked more relaxed and less alert that he did previously. 

"Hey, what's up?" Eren's voice was slightly lower as he greeted Levi, having more success in creeping Levi out than making him feel comfortable.  

Blinking a few times, Levi mustered up the air in his lungs to speak again despite his discomfort. 

"Eren, switch to 'Default Mode'." 

With that order, Eren's back straightened, his eyes focused more and a smile played on his lips. Levi stared at him, expecting him to say something, but he didn't. 

"Eren, switch to 'Servant Mode'." Levi watched as Eren brought his hands together, bowing respectfully before opening his mouth to speak. 

"Good afternoon, master, how may I be of assista-" 

"What the fuck! Back to 'Default Mode' - Go back to 'Default Mode'!" 

Eren placed his hands back down by his sides and expressed a look of concern. 

"Sorry, did that make you uncomfortable? You seem...Disturbed?" 

 Levi shook his head, a very faint pink stained his cheeks. 

"N-No, just- Carry on doing whatever you were doing." He waved his hand dismissively, sitting back down to compose himself. He watched as Eren wondered around his kitchen, taking things out of his drawers and holding them up occasionally. It didn't take Eren long to circle around to the fridge. Opening it, his eyes focused on each item on the shelves, the 'best before' and 'use by' dates flashed before him. 

"Your milk has gone off..." Eren observed as he started to take smaller items out of the fridge to look at them. 

"That's alright, I can get more online." 

Eren stopped, putting the item in his hand back and turning to face Levi. 

"If you connect me to your router, I can do that for you if you want. All I need to do is look at the password on the router, I can connect myself." 

Taking a moment, Levi nodded before closing the fridge door for Eren. 

"Uh- Right...I'll let you look around first and then we'll...Do that..." 

 The amount of discomfort Levi felt was more than he anticipated, but for the sake of stopping Hanji being late to work, he promised himself he would at least try and deal with it for two weeks. Considering he hadn't had a panic attack despite all the day was throwing at him, a small part of him felt proud of himself. 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forgive my mistakes, I'll edit this later.

The calendar counted down each day as Eren and Levi grew a little closer to each other. Within just a week and a half, Levi seemed to learn how to tolerate the robot living with him and Eren...Eren hadn't changed at all. 

"Good morning, Levi." Eren closed the bedroom door behind him. Scanning the room, he picked up on a rustling sound, then a long groan coming from the messy pile of cloth on the bed. Walking straight over to the window, he pushed the curtains open and turned with a smile. His green eyes picked up tired grey pools as Levi sat up, his grogginess only emphasised by the bags under his eyes. Although he didn't appreciate being blinded first thing every morning, Levi had to admit to himself that this wasn't so bad. In his mind, he played back all the lonesome mornings before this, he recalled the feeling of being alone until he -needed- someone...Wanting someone with him wasn't a feeling he felt often, but he found himself starting to lean on Eren more than he expected he would. 

 

Letting Eren lead him down his stairs, he nodded a tired 'thank you' as Eren served him his first meal of the day. Levi wouldn't say that his diet was ever unhealthy, but he noticed himself shedding weight in small portions the more he ate what the robot served him. 

Levi tried to get comfortable, but felt his skin crawling as Eren stood at attention, staring at him. Looking out through the kitchen window, Levi scoffed to himself, he supposed he might as well have Eren talk if the robot insisted on watching him eat. 

"What's the weather like outside today?" 

At the question, Eren looked out of the window and seemed to stare into space before answering. 

"Today is warm. There's expected showers in the late afternoon, but over all today is nice. Perfect weather for airing the house out." 

Levi nodded at his answer, swallowing the mouthful of food he had. 

"Any news today?" If he was being honest he really didn't care, but the way Eren could tell him what to expect on the news before he turned his television on astounded him. Eren's eyes seemed to dance as he gathered what he needed. Levi couldn't see it, but behind Eren's green irises were headlines and news articles and statistics ready for him to read out.

"Any news that will interest you? Unfortunately, none, however, if you want a run down; there's been a total of three car crashes that have been reported on, North and South Korea are getting closer to joining as one, South Korea's unemployment rate is higher than it was in 2010-" Eren stopped as Levi raised his hand. 

"Is there something wrong?" Eren tilted his head slightly, whenever Levi had asked for news, he had never stopped Eren before. 

"No...It's nothing...Are you planning on standing there watching me eat like a creep for much longer?" Eren only blinked at the question, taking a moment to register it as sarcasm. 

"You haven't given me an order, so...Yes." 

Concern filled Eren's eyes as Levi momentarily choked on his food. 

 

_

 

In a crowd of thousands, umbrella's raised one after the other, as if the butterfly effect swooped over busy south korean streets, a variety of different people all cringed and squinted as they made their way through the rain...But not Hanji.

Hanji felt the rain dripping on their face and smiled, feeling the cold air hold them in a tight and loving hug. To say that not many people let Hanji experience things such as a loving hug would be wrong to say, but not too far off the mark. The rain was so cold to others but so warm to Hanji. They were used to the cold, but they never let that coldness rub off on their personality. 

As they walked in the cold embrace of the rain, they uncrossed their arms, untied their hair, took off their glasses, and tilted their head back just a little, stopping at a crossing just across from their work place. The feeling of the rain held all their focus, each cold drip against their skin sent shivers through them. 

"Hanji!"

An echo of their name brought them out of their trance. Snapping their head forwards again, their blurred vision caught an outline of slick blond hair on flawless white skin. Slipping their glasses back on, they squinted as they noticed who it was. 

"Erwin?!" Once the light was green, they broke into a sprint over the crossing, running straight to their boss. 

"To the office, quickly-" 

"What's happening-?" 

They both stormed through the automatic doors of their work place, ignoring both the artificial welcome and the people around them. Pushing and shoving to get to the elevator, they both felt the thorns of impatience nipping at their skin. It wasn't until they were both in their shared office that Hanji knew what was going on. Leading Hanji to his screen, Erwin pointed to all the red warning signs and broken code. As Hanji gazed around the room, their co workers were either staring at their screen with squinted eyes, or a defeated look rested on their face. 

"You said Levi didn't talk to anyone aside from you, correct?" 

"Yes, Sir." 

Hanji took a closer look. Thanks to working with computers for years, Hanji was the one who implemented the stronger firewall that all computers in the building had, the genius even thought ahead so much as to set up an alarm system if that firewall was ever broken so even a hacked computer had a fighting chance at keeping all important data hidden. What they saw in front of them, was that alarm system. 

"Levi couldn't have told anyone about Eren...We didn't tell anyone anything about Eren, you had us all sign a contract of secrecy." 

Erwin only nodded, walking away momentarily and returning with a towel. 

"So that begs the question, who tried to do this and how do they know about Eren?" 

Hanji took the towel from Erwin, drying their hair and face. 

Both of them were at a loss. Erwin put all of his trust in his workers and Hanji felt inclined to follow suit. If anyone betrayed them, which was looking like the answer, they had to figure out who and -fast-. 

"Levi is gonna be done with Eren by the end of the week...He said two weeks, right? What do we do?" 

Erwin's mind raced to a temporary solution. 

"Let's both try and fix this first," Erwin started as he pointed Hanji to their desk. 

"We'll have to ask Levi to keep Eren for the rest of the month. We'll tell him the office is getting redecorated so we can't store Eren here. Telling him the truth might worry him." 

Hanji nodded, sitting at their computer and booting it up. 

 


	8. Chapter 8

Rain drops against the bedroom window seemed to draw Levi in, he watched and counted each hit against the glass. Sitting at his desk, the book before him and his pen were sitting idly, waiting to be used. In the quiet of his room, Levi cast his mind back, trying to catch a glimpse of his childhood. Looking down at his empty pages, he sighed to himself. Hanji's voice from a long time ago rang in his ears just as he was about to close the book. 

- 

"Try writing a diary if you can't think of things on the spot." 

A raven eyebrow raised at this suggestion. Crossing his arms a little tighter over his chest, Levi tilted his head and gave his therepist a cold stare before answering them. 

"If I can't remember what happened, how would keeping a diary help? I don't need a journal." 

Hanji frowned somewhat cartoonishly as they left their seat, turning to the large stack of shelves behind them. As they did, Levi took a moment to look over the room as he'd done many times before. The warm red carpet on the floor complimented the slightly lighter red walls nicely, but that was the only positive thing he could muster up in his mind. The foggy white light that seeped in through the large dusty window was one of many things that bothered him and set his OCD off. The room was filled with both large and small stress revlievers of various and obnoxiously bright colours along with anything in between. The small room had books, stuffed toys, plastic toys, clay kits, paint, pens, the list went on. It did bother Levi that the room seemed less like a professional's office and more like a child's playground, but the fact none of the items matched the decoration of the room really grinded his gears. 

"Here." Hanji placed a book down in front of Levi. Glancing up at them, Levi huffed and looked back down at the book. The pages were bare. Yellow, but bare. The cover of the book seemed old, the thin layer of dust on the top made Levi's skin crawl. 

"Why this old thing? You telling me you don't have anything cleaner than this in here?" Levi's face of disgust was met with a grin. 

"Levi, your memories of what happened are foggy and old, that's a book that's been sitting in here for years. That book would have had to be in here roughly a few months before the accident occured if we have the right date." 

Levi took a small packet of tissues out from his pocket. Taking one tissue out, he glared at his therepist as he gave the book cover a wipe down. 

"So?" 

A defeated sigh left Hanji's lips. 

"So, maybe it'll jog your memory? Don't knock it 'till you try it Levi, when it does work, you owe me dinner." As Hanji's glasses seemed to show Levi a hopeful gleam, he rolled his eyes. 

"Tch. Yeah. A 'thank you' will be enough if you're even lucky enough to get that, shitty glasses." 

This hostility in his voice seemed to make the air around them a little thicker, a cough from Hanji moved the conversation on from that point. Although he trusted Hanji, he still wasn't willing to let his guard down completly.

- 

A faint smirk rested on Levi's lips. His mind cast so far back in thought that he didn't hear his door open. 

"Levi?" 

The smack of Levi's knee against his desk bounced off the walls as he jumped, taking a moment to get his breath back before glaring at Eren. 

"Tch! What?" 

He looked down to see his phone in Eren's hands. The caller was Hanji. 

"You left your phone downstairs and it was ringing. Since you couldn't hear it, I brought it to you." 

Looking down at the phone, then back up at Eren, Levi nodded and took the phone. 

"Right...Thanks...What is it, shitty glasses?" Levi sat back as he held his phone to his ear. 

 

"Levi, we're gonna need a favor from you," 

Hanji's eyes started to sting as they continued on, fighting the hacker with everything they had. Both their hands had made a home on their keyboard quickly, their fingers danced over the keys, hitting all the right buttons at just the right time. Hanji's head tilted to the side as they held the phone between their ear and their shoulder. 

"Alright...What is it?" 

Hanji surpressed a noise of fustration as they watched more code being stolen from their screen. 

"We need you to hold on to Eren a little longer. The place is getting re decorated, so, we can't keep Eren here right now." 

Levi nodded, but narrowed his eyes in suspicion. If he listened in closely, Hanji's voice sounded different and he could clearly pick up on the sound of a keyboard clacking vigorously. 

"Are you decorating it online or something? Why are you typing so fast?" 

At this question, he heard Hanji's breath hitch. 

"We're busy with a new project at the moment, that's all! Alright Levi, I gotta go, bye!" 

Levi blinked as he heard the phone drop. 

 


	9. Chapter 9

Putting his phone on his desk, Levi rolled his eyes. 

"Hanji was never a good liar...Oi, Ere-" 

Levi turned in his chair to see Eren holding a picture in a frame. Levi couldn't place what it was exactly, but the shock of fear that peirced his back was enough for him to get up and walk over. When he tried to grab the picture from Eren, he paused. He couldn't tell why, but his eyes began to sting, small tears forming in them. The picture frame held within it a picture of a younger Levi and a woman who seemed to posses most of Levi's features. Levi couldn't have been any younger than six, wearing a simple T-shirt and shorts while his mother wore an expensive looking white blouse with a pink long skirt. Running a scan, Eren nodded to himself. 

"Kuchel Ackerman..." 

As Eren read off that name, Levi felt a misplaced sense of...Possible anger? He could feel a small sense of fear under that too...

"How do you know her name?" Levi's teeth were gritted, his breathing becoming irregular. He could feel his throat ripping with the sudden and alarming growl in his voice. 

"I can scan people's faces and bring up their profiles. That's how I first knew who you were- Well, that and process of elimination...This was your mother..." 

Eren turned to look at Levi, both their hands still on the frame. Scanning Levi's face, Eren picked up on anger, sadness and greif. His programing screamed at him to make an apologetic responce. 

"I'm sorry you lost your mother...Do you know how it happened?" 

Eren knew what happened as soon as he saw the woman's face. His eyes brought up her entire profile. Her children, her partner, her death date, her cause of death, there wasn't much more to list. Letting Levi hold the frame, Eren switched modes and lead Levi to his bed, sitting them both down. 

"Listen, you don't have to talk about it if you don't wanna, but I'm here for you, alright?" 

At that, Levi's brow raised. The raven didn't need to be around Eren for every long to pick up on his usual speech pattern. 

"I didn't tell you to switch modes." Levi whispered out, hanging his head low to try and cover up the tears staining his cheeks. 

"Levi, you don't need a machine, you need a friend. Talk to me...You trust me, right?" 

Unfortunatley for Eren, that was the wrong choice of words. Thanks to Levi's state, his next words were poisonus venom. 

"Tch. Trust you? I barley know you! That's the problem with you and your shitty personality programs, you're three different people and I don't trust either one of you."  If Levi were being honest with himself, that was only partly true. He trusted Eren with his food and basic tasks, but that was it. As for the three personality programs, he was unsure at best. 

Feeling Eren put an arm around his shoulder and pull him in, a sob cracked open Levi's closed off persona. 

"I have three personality programs because I was designed to be as human as everyone else. Humans have facades and personalities that they put up to help them blend in, stand out, get what they want more effeciently. I know trust takes time, Levi, but, just know that I trust you." Eren saw red for a moment, a warning of some kind. He wasn't sure what it was he just said, but after those words left his lips, something in this system fell out of place. 

Looking at the picture, Levi's memory was extended a little. Leaning into Eren, he closed his eyes as he spoke what he saw. 

- 

"Levi, sweetie, can you put your toys away? We're going out." 

A woman with long, black hair knelt down before her child and started to pick up building blocks, a smile rested comfortably on her pink painted lips. As she glanced at her son, her grey eyes filled with warmth as she watched her son quietly follow suit. 

"Where are we going?" 

Levi asked as he flew his little toy plane into his toy box; his mother gave a small chuckle. 

"We're going to the park. I thought it was a nice day to have a picnic, don't you?" At her question, she could see her son's eyes lighten up. Then, without delay, he hurridley started to throw and shove the rest of his toys in the box with haste. 

"Be careful, you might break them if you're too rough." Another chuckle from his mother tickled his ears as she stood up, waiting in the door way for her son to follow her into the kitchen. 

The woman's delicate hands held a basket, filled to the brim with all sorts of different foods. Handing Levi a blanket, she made sure he held it tight before taking his hand and leading him out the door. 

Levi's young mind didn't think much of his daily life, his mother would often take him out to places, then take him back home to his large house. His mother hardly ever scolded him, and even when she did it was never enough to send Levi crying in a corner...That was probably why he loved her so much. She was the only one looking after him aside from the few strange people in suits that tended to Levi's needs when she was busy, no father, no grandma, no other brothers or sisters, Levi put all of his trust into the woman with jet black locks just as she put all of her trust in her son. 

Once the two reached an empty open space, Levi's mother set the basket down near a tree, gently taking the blanket from Levi to spread it out over the grass. Looking around, Levi could see ducks swimming on the ever expanding, dark blue lake in front of him. The trees cast shadows on the grass as the sun beamed behind them.Turning to his mother, he saw her digging around the basket, careful placing each item on the blanket she was sitting on. Waddling over to her, he steped a few paces on the blanket and fell back, falling into a sitting position with a small 'Oof'. Levi's young eyes admired the woman before him. Her delicate hands, perfectly cut nails, her porcelain skin, Levi admired everything about her. Although he was too young to understand it, there was a small part of him that knew his mother was strong somehow. 

"Well? Help yourself!" 

At his mothers gentle words and closed eye smile, Levi reached for the closest thing to him, digging in. 

From there, Levi's memory became foggy. He remembered his mother surprsing him by pulling his favorite book from the basket, he remembered cuddling up to her as she read to him, he remembered his mother's laugh at Levi almost fell in the water while feeding the ducks, he could picture them both picking up small stones by the lake side and throwing them on the water, wathcing them skip, he also remembered the walk home...But that was it. 

- 

"She sounds like a lovely woman..." 

Eren commented when Levi was finished. His programming was screaming at him to tell Levi what happened since it seemed that Levi didn't know...But as he pushed that request back, he kept seeing red warnings. 

"She is...She was...Eren, switch back to default mode. Make me tea." 

Eren nodded, switching back to default mode. Leading Levi to the kitchen he carried out that request. As he watched Levi hold the picture frame, something inside him changed...But he couldn't place what it was....


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while and I am so sorry for the delay! In all honesty, I thought I'd already posted this. The next chapters are already planned, it's just a case of writing them, which I'm sure I will find the time to.   
> Thank you for reading!

The soft snoring from the desk next to him stirred Erwin from his sleep. Looking around, he remembered where he was. Exhaustion flooded his frame as he shuffled in his chair. After hours upon hours of slamming codes into the computers and deleting unwanted files, his team had won the battle for their privacy. Dull light seeped in through the windows, giving Erwin a rough idea of what time it was. As he looked around the empty room, contemplating on leaving, he turned his attention to Hanji. Erwin couldn't see them too clearly, but they seemed to be in a deep and peaceful sleep. Getting up, Erwin took the long coat he had off of the back of his chair and took careful steps, standing behind Hanji to place the black material gently over their shoulders. Blue eyes stung as Hanji moved slightly, accidentally taking the computer off of stand by mode. 

"You worked hard today..."

Erwin knew he was talking to himself, but he found a strange sense of comfort in that. He never found it hard to speak to any of his team members, especially Hanji, but genuine praise never left his lips too often. 

"You worked hard ever since you first joined the team...You should be proud of yourself for getting so far." 

Erwin's mind was cast back to the day bright brown eyes met his crystal orbs for the first time. All that time ago, he never met someone as enthusiastic about joining his team than Hanji. Years ago, his team weren't allowed to make any large advancements, they were more so a tech support team for the rest of the building. Despite that, Hanji was always so happy to help in any way they could. Erwin always found it strange how they let their emotions control them so much. Jumping for joy if they got something right, throwing themselves into a spinny chair and rolling into the shadows if they made a mistake, it was a weird sight to see, yet something about it made Erwin all the more interested and invested in Hanji as a team member. When Hanji and Erwin grew used to having one on one conversations, they found their personalities clicked into place with each other even more. It was after that realization that Hanji became Erwin's most trusted member of the team. All those years ago lead to his team creating a revolutionary breakthrough- He never would have guessed his team would end up where they were, but, he was happy that Hanji was apart of it. Erwin smiled down at Hanji's sleeping form and made sure he was light on his feet as he walked away, returning to his chair. Taking his phone into his hand, he unlocked it, squinting, then blinking at the time. People would still be in the building at seven in the evening, but not many.

 

The bare floors of the building were hauntingly quiet. The smell of oil was the only thing filling the air. No cheerful conversations, no lingering scents of morning coffee, the phones were almost dead silent. The atmosphere in the building was new, but calming. Calming to the receptionist, calming to the remaining workers, calming until the doors slid open. It was almost as if the air turned icy that instant. Three intimidating bodied polluted the calming aura wit their presence. 

The first figure of the three was the looming, lanky build of a man. The colour black was ever present on their outfit, his shining black boots matching his matte black hat. Although the few workers in the room couldn't see his eyes, his piercing eyes could see them. The bold postures of the two behind him suggested that he was their 'leader' of sorts. One of the figures behind him belonged to a female. Her pale blonde hair and cold crystal eyes matched her porcelain skin perfectly. Next to her, a male with brown hair and brown matching eyes stood. Both of their outfits seeming to follow a black theme. The 'leader' of the three turned his attention to the reception desk. 

"The High Development Team. What floor they on?" The faint stench of alcohol only added to his intimidating presence. In a small voice, the receptionist pointed to the elevator. 

"T-Top floor. Follow the corridor to the left...A-Although you really are m-meant to make an a-appointment-" The frozen, cold eyes of the female shot daggers at the receptionist, effectively hushing them. 

"Thanks, darlin'" Their thick, southern accent sent a wave of both fear and disgust over the receptionist simultaneously. 

The three made their way to the elevator as instructed and watched the doors close. The silence between the three was broken when they trio were half way up, a female's voice shattered the peace with a dull tone of voice. 

"Are we going to steal it, Sir?" The eyes of the woman looked up to her boss in curiosity, only to be met with another dull tone of voice in response.  

"What a dumb question. How are we meant to steal it if we got nothin' to get it out of here with, Caven?" The low tone of her boss answered her question with rudeness and dismissal, forcing the silence on the three again as they continued to their destination. 

The ding of the elevator at the top floor prompted the three of them to step out and take a left in a 'v' formation, their boss taking the lead, stalking closer to the large door at the end of the hall.  With a smirk, the leader of the three raised his fist to knock on the door. 


End file.
